


You make me live now (honey)

by SQ (proteinscollide)



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: (see notes at end for details), Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Rom Com Shenanigans, Trope Subversion/Inversion, Weddings, past Hoseok/Minhyuk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-08 03:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12246465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/proteinscollide/pseuds/SQ
Summary: "So hyung... where are you going to find this totally not made up definitely real date to accompany you?" Changkyun says, patting him on the head. Even with his eyes closed Kihyun can see the shit-eating grin his friend must have on his face. "And isn't the wedding in, like, a week?"Kihyun brings his best friend's ex-boyfriend as his fake date to his brother's wedding, much to best friend Minhyuk's dismay.





	You make me live now (honey)

**Author's Note:**

> All the thanks to popliar (littlerhymes) for showing me the Hero video all those months ago, not laughing too much when I fell deep into MX this year, pushing me to write, beta-reading... everything! :)

Kihyun is having lunch with Changkyun at work when his mother calls about his RSVP to the wedding. 

"I didn't think I had to," he says to her bemusedly. "I mean, I'm the best man. What difference does it make if I - "

He winces as he listens to her rapid fire reply, realising he's walked right into a trap of his own making. 

"Sorry, I didn't think about the plus one," he says. Then, "uh NO you can't set me up, I - no it's not because I don't trust your taste - wait, eomma no, it's - well it's because I'm already bringing someone."

Changkyun's head snaps up, eyes wide, mouth lifting at the corners. Kihyun glares at him and shakes his head rapidly. Changkyun abandons all pretense of not eavesdropping and props his chin on his hands. 

"I'm not making it up," Kihyun says heatedly, lying through his teeth. "Yes it's a real person!" Then he pales as her voice becomes more and more excited in his ear. "It's a boy," he blurts out, desperately trying to quell her enthusiasm. She's imagining _his_ wedding in her head already, he's sure.

This stops her in her stride for a moment, but Kihyun knows it'll only be a brief reprieve.

"Uh, not a boyfriend," Kihyun says hurriedly into the silence. "I'm just - seeing how things go. By bringing him to the wedding, yes."

Changkyun is doubled up now, wheezing with laughter he's barely managing to keep quiet. 

"Um so yeah, you can put him on the seating plan. Gotta go, my lunch break is up, love you!" Kihyun says before his mother can start to pepper him with questions about his non-existent non-boyfriend. He hangs up, lets out the breath he's been holding, and drops his head onto the table with a clunk. 

"So hyung... where are you going to find this totally not made up definitely real date to accompany you?" Changkyun says, patting him on the head. Even with his eyes closed Kihyun can see the shit-eating grin his friend must have on his face. "And isn't the wedding in, like, a week?"

"THREE weeks, excuse me," Kihyun says, not raising his head. 

"Yes, because those extra 14 days are really going to help when you've been single for the last year," Changkyun rolls on mercilessly. 

Kihyun makes a noise of rage, only distracted from picking a fight with Changkyun when his phone beeps. He pulls it out of his pocket and unlocks it, only to see it's just a notification that Minhyuk has liked a post on Instagram. He really needs to change his passcode to stop Minhyuk from changing his settings to alert him to every little thing happening in his best friend's life. 

"Oh, Minhyuk-hyung, no," Changkyun groans. Kihyun looks up at him, surprised. 

"He changed my settings as well," Changkyun says, rolling his eyes. "Which is why I know he just double-tapped on a post on his ex's account from 85 weeks ago."

Kihyun winces. "Was it a happy post of them together?"

"Worse," Changkyun says, sighing.

Curious, Kihyun looks it up on his own phone. "Ohhhhhh. Wow, I didn't realise his ex was so - oh shit!"

Changkyun looks across at him and says wearily, "Seriously?"

Kihyun bites his lip. "He doesn't know who I am anyway, we’ve never met, so he'll just think it's a random like, right?"

Changkyun snorts. "Like Minhyuk wouldn't have told him all about you in the time they were together. If you hadn't been overseas on exchange… Anyway, I bet it's more like Hoseok-hyung wishes he didn't know who you were." He picks up the remains of his lunch and moves towards the trash. 

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Kihyun demands, but Changkyun's already halfway out of the lunch room, waving rather than answering. 

Kihyun's about to give chase, being late back back to his desk be damned, when his phone beeps again with a notification. Kihyun looks down, wondering if he needs to call Minhyuk and check up on him if he's really wallowing in pics of his (hot) ex, but he takes a sharp breath in when he opens it up to read a DM from said ex instead. 

_Hi there Kihyun, thanks for the like. You're Minhyuk's friend, right? ;) I’ve heard so much about you..._

**

“Ah, it’s always the best when you’ve been sexiled,” Jooheon says around a mouthful of food. “I haven’t eaten this well in ages.”

“It is not the best,” Kihyun says grumpily. “It’s my apartment, not a fucking dorm room. And it’s unfair someone that quiet has that much game.”

“Well you did say he’s a model, right? Not that we’ve ever met the mysterious Hyungwon in the three years you’ve been flatmates, which, when you think about it, is a bit odd, hyung,” Changkyun says, finally lifting his head from the bowl of noodles he’d been demolishing. “Does he really exist? Are you really sexiled? Maybe you just like coming over to cook and clean for us…”

Kihyun gives him a withering look. “Right, because I would voluntarily come over for that.”

“No, you come over to hang out with Minhyuk-hyung,” Changkyun says, “Which you wouldn’t have to do if he was still living with you. So you really brought this on yourself.”

“He was the one who moved out!” Kihyun says. “And you two don't get off scot free, you’re the flatmate stealers who stole him while I was overseas. Now I have to leave my own place every time my ridiculously good looking flatmate brings someone over to have ridiculously loud sex. So I blame all three of you."

As if on cue, they hear the front door slam, and Minhyuk is yelling down the narrow corridor, “What’s Kihyunnie saying is our fault now?”

“That he’s here playing mother while his hot model flatmate is getting some," Jooheon says, ducking as Kihyun reaches over the breakfast bar to whack him upside the head. 

"Excuse me, fuck your gender stereotypes, I'm actually more like a houseproud DILF," Kihyun shoots back as Minhyuk walks into the kitchen, toeing off his socks and leaving them in a pile at the door. 

"Awww honey, you're the best!" he coos, giving Kihyun a loud smack of a kiss on his cheek. "Dinner's on the table and the terrible twins are ready for bed!"

Changkyun rolls his eyes and says, "Leave me out of your weird role-playing. I'm gonna game for a while, you in Honey-hyung?"

Jooheon nods, both hopping off their stools to head for the living room.

Kihyun makes a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat. Changkyun and Jooheon shamefacedly double back to pick up their dirty bowls, rinse them in the sink, and place them in the dishwasher.

"Wow, you really have them well-trained," Minhyuk marvels. 

He sits down at one of the vacated spots, and Kihyun puts a bowl of food in front of him, pulling up the seat opposite to start eating his own dinner.

"This is tasty!" Minhyuk says after a few bites. 

"Don't sound so surprised," Kihyun says, frowning. "You would've starved without me in college."

"Ah, those wonderful days when you would nag me about leaving a sweater lying on the couch and bitch about how I didn't put the cap back on the toothpaste clockwise," Minhyuk says with fake fondness. "How could I forget?"

"It was more than a sweater, you left your clothes everywhere, you would just get undressed on the way to your room all the time. Like, you just left your smelly socks in the doorway, gross," Kihyun says, wrinkling his nose.

"Eh, Jooheon and Changkyun don't care about that," Minhyuk says, flapping a hand casually. "And the world doesn't end."

"Because I come over and clean every once in a while so you don't continue wallowing in your own filth," Kihyun says. He pauses, then asks in a more uncertain voice, "Was I really that bad? Is that why you left?"

"What?" Minhyuk says, jerking his head up from his food. 

"Was I such an annoying flatmate that you had to move out?" Kihyun asks, biting his lip. "I just - I know we joke about it, but I thought you liked living with me. And then I came back from Spain and you were here instead."

Minhyuk looks frozen for a moment, uncharacteristically lost for words. "Uh - I didn't - no, it wasn't you, it was me," he says finally in a tumble of words. "I just thought you'd want your own space when you came home after a year away."

"That's bullshit," Kihyun says, looking hurt. "That wasn't a consideration in the three years we shared before that." 

"No really - " Minhyuk says heatedly, ramping up to argue his case when Kihyun asks abruptly, "Was it because of Hoseok-ssi?"

"What does he have to do with anything?" Minhyuk says, puzzled. "Why would you - what?"

"You were dating him for, like, half the time I was away," Kihyun says. "And you had the whole place to yourself. I kept having this paralysing fear you two were defiling every surface in our apartment and not cleaning after yourself."

"That was what you were worrying about, really?" Minhyuk says incredulously. 

"I don't know, it just sounded really... intense? Between the two of you. Every time you Skyped me you would end up telling me way too many details about your sex life. Did he - did you leave because you thought things were getting serious with him?"

Minhyuk is silent for a long moment, and Kihyun sighs. "Guess that's my answer," he says. Then he pats Minhyuk gingerly on the shoulder and says, "Um, I'm very belatedly sorry?"

"What for?"

"I shouldn't have been such a bitch about you moving out. I'm a shit best friend to not realise you were probably in a tough situation, being broken up with when you thought you were going to move in together."

"Huh? Oh, right. Yeah, it was - that's why, sure. But it's all good now."

Kihyun smirks, eyes crinkling up in the corners. "Oh yeah, so good you're stalking his workout posts on Instagram from a year ago."

"Ugh, that was a mistake! Though I told you what he could do with his - "

"No flashbacks please," Kihyun says, making a face. "Hey, considering your love of oversharing, do you realise you never told me why you two broke up? Like, it was all stories about the very athletic sex you two were having for six months and then you just stopped mentioning him. What was that all about?"

Minhyuk shrugs. "Just knew he wasn't the one for me in the long term," he says, not meeting Kihyun's eyes. 

"Fine, don't tell me, I'm only your best friend," Kihyun says, pouting. 

Minhyuk throws up his hands and says exasperatedly, "Seriously, who gives a shit about all that? It's ancient history. None of that matters anymore."

He threads his arm through Kihyun's and steers him gently out of the kitchen. "Dinner was good but you didn't make dessert," Minhyuk says, cracking up when Kihyun starts to protest as expected. "You can make it up to me by buying me some ice-cream from the place down the road."

"What am I, your sugar daddy?" Kihyun says, but he's already checking for his wallet in his pocket and looking for his shoes by the front door, his questions about Hoseok forgotten.

**

“I’m exhausted, cuddle me,” Minhyuk demands as he walks into the living room, throwing himself onto the couch and Kihyun. 

Kihyun grunts as Minhyuk lands on him, but pulls him closer until Minhyuk’s head is on the cushion in his lap. 

“What did the little demons do today?” he says, sitting back, fingers already moving lightly through Minhyuk’s hair.

“Don’t talk about my darling kids like that,” Minhyuk says. “But for the record, why do we keep giving three-year-olds craft activities that involve glue?”

Kihyun makes a face. “How bad was it?”

Minhyuk’s already scrolling through his phone, looking for photos of the aftermath to show Kihyun. “It was a relative success, no one had to go to the school nurse this time.”

“Okay, but why is that kid running around in only a t-shirt and his underwear?”

“Because, Kihyun, I look away for one moment to stop a child from gluing their finger up their nose, and when I turned around this one had stuck his trousers to his chair, and decided the only way out was to leave the clothes behind.”

Kihyun nodded, rolling his eyes. “So… another great day at work?”

“The best!” Minhyuk says with a happy sigh. “I can’t believe they pay me to just play around with my babies all day. How was your day?”

“Eh, nothing exciting, the usual. I prepared my 27th binder of results on our latest drug trials that Changkyun assures will not get knocked back again from reg affairs. And when it inevitably happens because one of his lab techs forgot to run some extremely important test for getting it passed, he will have to buy me dinner and all the soju I can drink so I can bear to face the 28th binder the next day.”

“Sounds boring,” Minhyuk says. “Quit and come work with me instead. No binders! All the juice poppers you can drink!”

“Hah,” Kihyun says. “At least one of us needs to act like an adult during the day to keep us in fancy face masks and luxury cushions.”

Minhyuk turns on his side and snuggles closer to Kihyun’s stomach, almost purring as he rubs his cheek against the soft fabric under his face. “And I’m thankful every day that person isn’t me,” he says. “Hey, speaking of acting like an adult, how are you going to break the news to your family that you lied about bringing a date to the wedding? It’s less than 10 days away.”

Kihyun sits a little straighter and chuckles nervously. “Uh, right, about that,” he starts to say. 

Minhyuk shoots up from lying down and glares at Kihyun. 

“Ok, what have you done now?” Minhyuk asks accusingly. “Those are your tells, you’ve got something to tell me you don’t think I’ll like.”

“What? I don’t have tells,” Kihyun protests, voice a touch too loud, not looking Minhyuk in the eyes. 

“Uh-oh, it’s seriously bad, you’re like level five shifty right now,” Minhyuk says, eyes widening.

“It’s not bad! It’s just - I’m not lying about bringing a date to the wedding. I’ve found someone to go with.”

“OH MY GOD why didn’t you say something earlier?” Minhyuk shrieks, picking up the cushion and whacking Kihyun with it over and over. “Am I not your best friend? This is the kind of news you’re supposed to disclose straight away.” He’s bouncing up and down in his seat now, excited. “Who is it? Do I know them? Are they hot? When did this happen... tell meeeeeeee.”

“Uh before I say his name I need you to promise right now you won’t be mad at me.”

“Why would I be mad - oh no. Kihyun, don’t say it’s - “

“It’s Hoseok,” Kihyun says, shrinking back a little and looking at Minhyuk with pleading eyes.

“You mean that really hot dance instructor from the gym you met once through your friend Yoongi, right?” Minhyuk asks desperately. “Tell me it’s him and not my ex-boyfriend Hoseok, Yoo Kihyun, or so help me I’m going to end you.”

“Before you kill me, I swear it’s the only option I have left!”

“How is it your only option?” Minhyuk yells. 

“Remember it has to be someone who my parents don’t already know, otherwise I’d have said so, right? So that counts you out - and you’ve already RSVP’d separately with your family so that would be extremely suspicious. And it also means I can’t ask Changkyun or Jooheon.”

“Well they’ve never met Hyungwon...” 

Kihyun sighs heavily. “Trust me, I asked. He’s got some work gig out of town that weekend. Yoongi has to work too. So where else am I going to find a strange guy who’s not an axe murderer to be my fake date at this short notice?”

“Ugh, this is just - hang on, how did you even ask Hosesok-hyung? You’ve never met the guy.”

“No thanks to you,” Kihyun mutters. “He messaged me because - he just did, and I was curious obviously, so we had coffee a few days ago. He seems pretty nice? And a good listener. When I blurted out this dilemma he offered to come along - I mean, he gets a free weekend away with some nice food - and I couldn’t think of a good reason not to take him up on it.”

“What about, oh, he’s Minhyuk’s fucking ex-boyfriend?”

“You said you guys stayed friends, and it was four years ago! I thought it was all good between the two of you. Come on, Minhyukie, please. Do you really want me to be in hell at the wedding reception, trapped at a table that’s just me and eleven single ladies my mother’s rustled up from somewhere?”

“Whatever,” Minhyuk says, sulking. He swings his feet off the couch abruptly and says as he gets up, “I don’t think I’m going to stay for dinner after all.”

“Don’t be like this, stay - Minhyuk. Minhyuk!” Kihyun reaches out but Minhyuk is already sweeping out of the room, and he slams the front door shut as he leaves. 

*

“Hey, are you at the venue now?”

Kihyun fumbles with the phone, double-checking caller ID for the Facetime call before swiping to answer. He cautiously says as Minhyuk appears on screen, “Yes, I just got here and checked in. I thought you weren’t speaking to me?”

Minhyuk makes an annoyed sound. “I wasn’t, but I’m also dying to see pictures and hear all about the pre-wedding events, so…”

“Am I forgiven then?” Kihyun asks. “I’ll tell you all about anyway, but. I don’t want you to stay mad at me, Minhyukie.”

“You know I couldn’t, really,” Minhyuk says, sighing. “I missed talking to you.”

“It was only a week,” Kihyun says, before ducking his head and muttering, “But yeah, I missed you too.”

“OK, so that’s out of the way, let’s get to the important stuff. I want to see where they’re having the ceremony. Is it as pretty as the pictures on the website?”

“You’re going to see it with your own eyes in three days,” Kihyun says, but he’s already walking towards the door out of the hotel lobby. As he steps out onto the walkway leading towards the chapel where the wedding will take place, he takes a sharp breath and says, “Wow, Minhyuk, the sun’s setting over the water and it’s so beautiful.”

“I can hear the waves!” Minhyuk says excitedly. Kihyun walks forward until he’s at the clear glass fencing. Below is the sea, crashing onto the rocks. Kihyun turns his phone around to let Minhyuk take in the view. 

There’s a long silence, and eventually Kihyun turns the screen back towards himself. “Did you get cut off - no, you’re still there,” he says. “It’s not like you to be so quiet.”

“Just thinking,” Minhyuk says. Then he adds, “It’s a really romantic sight, the sunset. I wish I was there with you in person.”

Kihyun blinks, opens his mouth then closes it again, not quite knowing what to say in response. Then Minhyuk barrels on, “So how’s the bro? Nervous?”

“More harassed and stressed than nervous,” Kihyun says. “Speak of the devil, he’s making urgent motions for me to get back inside, I guess I’m needed for something. I’ll call you later.”

A few hours later, Kihyun’s tucked up in bed catching up on his emails when Minhyuk’s caller ID buzzes through again. 

“Uh, what happened to ‘I’ll call you later’?” Minhyuk demands as soon as Kihyun picks up.

“I didn’t want to disturb my roommate,” Kihyun says, putting the phone down on the bed, twisting around to lie on his side to talk more comfortably. 

“You have a roommate?!”

“Guess the wedding budget all went to hire the swanky venue for the actual event. So yeah, I’m sharing with one of the other groomsmen.”

“That’s rough. We’re not disturbing him now?”

“He’s in the shower,” Kihyun says. “Don’t know how long he’ll be though.” Even as he finishes his sentence, the door to the bathroom opens, steam obscuring the view for a moment as the occupant leaves. 

“Is that him already? Don’t hang up just yet, we haven’t even really caught up,” Minhyuk whines. 

“Yeah, that’s him - whoah, hang on.”

Kihyun holds up his phone and pretends to check something on it as he takes a quick snap, then roots around in his bag next to the bed for his headphones. 

“I just sent you a present,” he says once he’s plugged back in.

“What is it - that’s your roomie for the next few nights? Oh my god.”

Kihyun nods and smiles at said roommate as he passes by the foot of Kihyun’s bed to get to his side of the room, Minhyuk continuing to have a conniption through his earphones. “He’s only walking around in a towel, that’s obscene! People aren’t supposed to look like that in real life!”

Kihyun laughs out loud, and Hyunwoo looks up from rifling through his luggage at the sound. 

“You seem happy. Are you talking to your boyfriend, Kihyun?”

Kihyun blushes at the question as he pulls the earphones out. “N-n-no,” he says quickly. “Just my best friend Minhyuk.”

Minhyuk’s tinny voice comes through the abandoned earphones on the bed, just barely audible. “I heard my name! Are you telling hot roomie about me? Tell him I say hi!”

Kihyun groans as he shoves the earphones back in. Hyunwoo’s eyes crinkle up in a smile. “How does he know I’m hot?” he says teasingly, and then adds, “Tell him thanks, and hi back.”

“Ask him if he wants to see a picture of me,” Minhyuk says in response.

“NO!” Kihyun says, just as Hyunwoo asks, “What did he say? Does he want another picture of me?” He jokingly flexes into a strong man pose, and Kihyun laughs helplessly and takes a few shots. 

“He actually wanted me to show you him,” he admits, fingers flying over the keys as he sends the flexing pics to Minhyuk. 

Hyunwoo comes over to the side of Kihyun’s bed, and leans down. Kihyun flicks through his photo roll and chooses a recent photo of Minhyuk in a still moment, eyes closed, hair shining in a ray of sunlight on the side of his face. Kihyun was really proud of the shot and he knows Minhyuk would thank him for picking something so flattering, but all of a sudden he’s fighting an urge to hide it from Hyunwoo’s view and keep it to himself.

“It’s a beautiful photo,” Hyunwoo says, then he leans closer to the mouthpiece and says loudly, “Minhyuk is really cute.”

Kihyun rolls his eyes as Minhyuk squeals in his ears, even as he feels a bit nauseous. If Hoseok is anything to go by, muscled guys like Hyunwoo are just Minhyuk’s type. And the very opposite of what Kihyun is like.

Hyunwoo steps back into the bathroom to brush his teeth, closing the door behind him, and Kihyun quickly, quietly whispers down the line, “Don’t get ideas Minhyuk, he’s like the straightest bro I’ve ever met.”

“He said I was cute, Kihyun.” Minhyuk sighs happily, basking in the positive attention. 

“Fine, whatever,” he says huffily. “Anyway, tell me about your day.”

Kihyun leans back to listen as Minhyuk tells him about the latest hijinks of his daycare kids, warm and drowsy; only jerking to wakefulness when the phone buzzes with a notification. Kihyun checks it and swears, interrupting Minhyuk’s flow of words. 

“What, what’s wrong?”

“Uh nothing, it’s just - gah.” Kihyun screws up his face and then says in his sweetest voice, “Minhyukie, you’re my best friend, you know that, right?”

There’s a long pause then Minhyuk says, “Sure. But what terrible thing do you have to tell me this time?”

“Well Hoseok’s just messaged me to say his transport to Busan for the wedding just fell through and, well, you’re driving down right?”

There’s an even longer pause. “You’re kidding me. You want me to spend eight hours cooped up with my ex-boyfriend so he can come and be your pretend date?”

“...yes?”

“You are shameless,” Minhyuk says. “FINE, but you owe me so big you will regret it when I call this favour in. Also because at least I won’t be alone with him.”

“You’re the best,” Kihyun gushes. “Wait, who else will be in the car? Your brother?”

“No, he’s coming with my parents. I’m driving my date, of course.”

And just like that, Kihyun feels nauseous all over again. 

*

Kihyun waits outside the door to the hotel nervously, checking his phone over and over. Hoseok had messaged about half an hour ago that they’d be there soon, which Kihyun took as a good sign. But now, as he sees Minhyuk’s old baby blue Hyundai roll up the driveway, he’s feeling a million emotions all at the same time: relief, worry, excitement, and dread; and he can’t quite separate out who or what is causing each. 

“You’re late,” he blurts out as Minhyuk gets out of the driver’s seat. He distantly clocks Hoseok sliding out the passenger side as Minhyuk rolls his eyes.

“We would’ve been fine if the kids hadn’t decided they needed a bathroom break about 10 minutes after we left the last rest stop,” Minhyuk says, sighing. 

“...the kids?” Kihyun asks confusedly, as the rear door opens and Jooheon and Changkyun tumble out. 

“Wait, the trouble twins are your date - dates? Does my mother know about this?”

“Of course she does, I wasn’t raised in a barn,” Minhyuk huffs. “Though I think she agreed before she realised you were bringing someone. I hope we didn’t throw out the seating plan too much.”

“Speaking of which…” Hoseok saunters up beside Kihyun and slips an arm casually around Kihyun’s waist. Kihyun does his best to suppress his surprised squeak at the touch, while Minhyuk narrows his eyes at them. 

“Hyung, you don’t need to pretend for us, we know,” Jooheon says loudly. 

“Oh my god, keep it down, big mouth,” Kihyun says, flapping his hands. “The whole point is that no one else does!”

He sees his mother bustling towards them through the lobby, and says out of the corner of his mouth, “Ok, showtime. Hoseok, that’s my mother coming towards us.” Then raising his voice, he says brightly, “Let’s get you all checked in!”

“Hello boys, hope you had a good trip down,” his mother says happily as she ushers them to the reception desk. Hoseok falls back to greet her, eyes sparkling, and Kihyun lets out the breath he hadn’t realised he was holding as she looks charmed. “What a handsome young man you are,” she says, reaching out to pat Hoseok on his arm. “I can see why Kihyun’s got his eye on you.” Kihyun laughs wildly and starts to regret all his choices. 

“Now, I’ve put Changkyun and Jooheon in one room, and Minhyuk and Hoseok in another down the hall,” she says, then continues chatting happily with the youngest two as they step up to the counter. Minhyuk grabs Kihyun tightly by the arm and yanks him aside out of earshot. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he says furiously.

“I didn’t know, I just thought she’d room you with your plus one,” Kihyun says helplessly. “It’d be weird now if I told her you couldn't because he’s your ex.”

Minhyuk groans. “You are so lucky I love you,” he says, covering his face with his hand. 

“Haha,” Kihyun laughs weakly. “You know I’d do the same for you.”

“Right, because this situation is definitely going to happen again,” Minhyuk says, punching Kihyun lightly in the arm. “Alright, we’re doing this,” he says, resigned, as they walk back up to where Hoseok is waiting for them. 

“Room 313,” Hoseok says, holding out a keycard for Minhyuk, and says to Kihyun, “Your mother made particular mention that we were at least a floor apart.”

Kihyun can feel the flush rising up his neck to his cheeks. “Oh god, sorry,” he says, cringing. 

“Don’t worry, it means she’s buying it,” Hoseok says with a wink. “But we really need to get our stories straight before I make any more small talk with your family.”

“OK, I’ll just run upstairs and see if I’m needed. If not I’ll come to your room once you’re settled to go over the details of our cover story,” Kihyun says. 

“Sounds great! I feel like a secret agent,” Hoseok says, laughing attractively. Kihyun swallows, and looks away, only to catch Minhyuk watching them both silently with an odd look on his face. 

_What’s wrong_ , he mouths at Minhyuk behind Hoseok’s back as they gather up their luggage to head up.

But Minhyuk just shakes his head, smiling tightly instead as he moves away. 

When Kihyun knocks on the door of 313 a little while later, there’s no answer at first. Kihyun frowns, checks the room number, and knocks again. 

“Give me a sec,” someone inside yells, and Kihyun steps back from the door and puts his hands in his pockets. A second turns into a little while, long enough for Kihyun to have counted that there’s 35 squares in the pattern on the carpet from here to the end of the corridor, before Hoseok appears at the door, peering out of the small gap he’s opened. 

“Sorry, I was in the shower,” he says breathlessly. He pulls back the door just enough for Kihyun to slip in, which puts them in the awkward position of being less than a finger’s width apart when Hoseok leans forward to push the door shut. His hair, still damp, brushes by Kihyun’s face and he inhales the scent of Hoseok’s shampoo, sweet and citrusy. 

Hoseok must have run to get to the door straight from the bathroom - there’s still pink high on his cheeks, his skin is warm, and he’s only in a bathrobe loosely tied around the waist. Kihyun can see the pale skin of his chest as he eases back, eyes crinkling into a smile.

“I lost track of time,” he confesses. He sits down on the end of the bed at the far end of the room, and Kihyun follows him across, looking around for somewhere to perch.

“You can sit on the bed too, it’s fine,” Hoseok says, patting the space next to him. 

Kihyun sits down nervously, clasping his hands in his lap. “So... what did we decide on for our, um - “ 

“Our meet cute? You mean ‘I accidentally liked an old pic of his on SNS’ isn’t going to cut it?” Hoseok teases. Then, more seriously, “Let’s keep it simple and as close to the truth as possible though, it makes things easier to remember. How about we met through mutual friends and hit it off over coffee a few months ago, and we’re taking things slow for now?”

“Sounds good,” Kihyun says. “Though - I guess asking you to my brother’s wedding isn’t exactly slow.”

“Yeah, you’re basically asking me to meet your parents under incredibly loaded circumstances. If we were in a drama you’d be secretly wishing for me to ask for your hand in the middle of the reception, wouldn’t you?” 

Kihyun laughs, feeling a little tension ease from his shoulders. “How dare you,” he mock fumes in response. “I would never be so gauche to steal the spotlight away from the bride and groom. And I’m a romantic - it’d have to be under the moonlight as we stroll along the beach, the party still going on behind us.”

He can see it in his head suddenly, holding hands tightly, the waves breaking softly by their side, with just enough light to be able to turn his head and look into Minhyuk’s eyes - 

Kihyun blinks, startled out of his reverie. 

“What’s the matter?” Hoseok asks, his hand moving to Kihyun’s knee for a reassuring squeeze. He doesn’t shift it away after. 

“Just - just lost in a daydream,” Kihyun says. Hoseok’s touch is warm and real. Kihyun slowly places a hand over Hoseok’s and laces their fingers together. “So it doesn’t look awkward later,” he says at Hoseok’s questioning gaze. 

“Good point,” he says. “Hm, what else would a new couple separated by distance for a week be doing in a nice hotel room like this?”

Kihyun can feel that flush on his skin again.

“I don’t want to presume,” he starts, just as Hoseok leans forward and places a soft kiss on his forehead. Then another at the corner of his eye, lips skidding over skin to his cheek, and then inching closer to his mouth. 

“You don’t have to,” Hoseok says lightly. “Presume, I mean. You’re hot, did I tell you that?”

Kihyun feels he must be bright red now. His skin feels too tight, and there’s a faint buzzing in his head, a frantic noise. It makes him lightheaded, reckless. 

“No,” he whispers. “But I like to hear it.”

“You’re hot,” Hoseok says again. “And if you were my boyfriend who I’d been thinking about all week I’d push you back onto this nice soft bed and - ”

He stops talking even as he eases Kihyun to lie down, and moves his mouth onto Kihyun’s for a deep kiss. Kihyun moans. It’s been so long since he’s felt desired by someone. The buzzing noise is still there in the background trying to tell him something but Kihyun lets go and lets himself enjoy the moment.

“And I’d make sure people knew you were mine,” Hoseok continues as he pulls away from Kihyun’s mouth. Kihyun makes a sound of protest, so Hoseok bends down to follow the column of Kihyun’s neck with his lips. “Right here, just above the collar so even in your fine suit tomorrow the mark would be clear.” He sucks hard, and scrapes his teeth just so it stings, and Kihyun cries out even as his hands tighten on Hoseok’s broad back, digging into the muscle there. 

“Hey, so the rehearsal dinner’s at six so we have - oh my god.” 

Kihyun jerks at the sound of Minhyuk’s voice, coming back to his senses fast. He pushes Hoseok aside frantically but when he sits up it’s clear there’s no doubt Minhyuk knows what they’ve been up to. 

Minhyuk addresses Hoseok first. “Wow, you certainly move fast,” he says snidely. “I was out of the room for, what, 15 minutes?”

“It’s just for show,” Hoseok says. “It’s not - you know I wouldn’t - “

Minhyuk just rolls his eyes and puts up a hand. Hoseok stops speaking. Minhyuk steps forward until he’s right in front of Kihyun and he says in a sugar sweet voice that doesn’t hide his rage, “Kihyunnie, a word outside please?”

Kihyun follows him silently into the corridor, the door closing behind them with a loud click. 

“I’m sorry,” Kihyun chokes out. “I don’t know what came over me. I won’t do it again.”

“You’re damn right you should be sorry,” Minhyuk spits out. He turns around and takes a deep breath. “Do you know what you’re sorry for?” Minhyuk continues in a tight voice, his back still to Kihyun. “Why I never want to see that ever again?”

“You’re not over him,” Kihyun says dully, as it suddenly dawns on him why Minhyuk’s been so upset over this plan from the start. “All this time and you’ve been - ”

Minhyuk turns back and he has one of the most bitter looks on his face that Kihyun has ever seen. “That’s what you think this is about?” he says. “You’re feeling sorry for me? Fuck you Kihyun, if you can’t see what’s in front of you.” 

Minhyuk pushes past Kihyun, swiping his keycard to his room angrily. Kihyun reaches out a beat late, still trying to understand what Minhyuk’s mad at him for, and the door slams in his face. He stands there for a moment, straining to listen for sounds of Minhyuk or Hoseok, but there’s just a terrifying silence for an unbearably long time. 

*

The next day - the day of the wedding - Kihyun is run off his feet with bridal party slash family of the groom duties. At first it’s a relief to put aside the unease he still feels around Minhyuk and Hoseok after last night, and just focus on being useful. He has tissues on hand when his mother - then his father - starts tearing up during the vows. He makes nice with what seems like a neverending line of relatives and his parents’ friends he hasn’t seen since he was a child, gritting his teeth into a smile each time someone pinches his cheeks and exclaims how much he’s grown. He’s polite and charming when yet another young woman is gently herded his way by his vigilant mother and her sisters. 

He’s everything people need him to be, but Minhyuk avoids him all day and it’s driving him crazy in a way he can’t quite work out, and by the time the reception rolls around Kihyun is so tired, and so done.

“Oh thank god, champagne,” he says, lifting two from a passing server and passing the other to Hyunwoo beside him. They’re seated at a long table for the bridal party at the front of the ballroom, and Kihyun knows this is one of the few moments he’ll have to catch his breath before the guests are seated for dinner and the show begins again. 

“Whoah, slow down,” Hyunwoo says when Kihyun drains his flute in seconds. “If you pass out I’ll have to do the speech and I’m terrible at being the centre of attention.”

Kihyun hiccups as he cracks his first genuine smile of the day. “Alright, for your sake I’ll pace myself,” he promises. 

More and more people are streaming in now, chatting as they weave around the tables, looking for their seat. Kihyun cranes his neck looking for his friends, and catches a glimpse of the back of Minhyuk’s head right at the other end of the room. 

“I’ll be back in a second,” he tells Hyunwoo, darting away. A server stops him mid-walk and hands him another glass of champagne, and Kihyun takes a few sips for courage as he approaches the table where Minhyuk, Hoseok, Jooheon and Changkyun are seated. 

“Hi, how’s things?” Kihyun asks in the cheeriest, breeziest voice he can muster. “Hope you’ve had a - hang on, you’re here? THIS is your out-of-town gig?”

Hyungwon smirks from his seat across the table and says mildly, “Surprise.”

Jooheon’s jaw drops wide open as he catches on to the conversation. “You’re hyung’s flatmate? Hyungwon the model? You’re real?”

Hyungwon looks askance at Kihyun but he answers, “Yes, yes but I also DJ at functions like this wedding to make ends meet, and clearly, yes. Who are you?”

Jooheon and Changkyun introduce themselves as Kihyun’s friends and Minhyuk’s flatmates, indicating Minhyuk sitting quietly beside them. 

“Oh, the famous Minhyuk,” Hyungwon says with a smile. “I’ve definitely heard of you.”

Kihyun looks over at Minhyuk to see how he’d react to this, but he just gazes coolly back at Hyungwon as he says, “Likewise.”

“And you?” Hyungwon asks Hoseok, who’s been hanging back from this conversation, sitting on Changkyun’s other side. 

“I’m Hoseok,” he says with a wide smile. “Kihyun’s boyfriend.”

Minhyuk makes a small scoffing noise just as Hyungwon says confidently, “Bullshit.”

“What?” The smile on Hosoek’s face drops and he looks with confusion up at Kihyun. 

“C’mon, I live with the guy, I’d know if he’d been getting laid. The house wouldn’t be so clean all the time.”

“Haha what a joker,” Kihyun says hurriedly.

“Hey Kihyun, I think we have to take our seats soon.” Kihyun breathes a small sigh of relief as Hyunwoo comes to the rescue. 

“Right, duty calls, I’ll - “ Kihyun says, turning away just in time to catch Hyunwoo wrinkling his forehead and squinting a bit at someone behind him. 

“Hey I know you,” Hyunwoo says. “I left you my number but you never called.”

Kihyun swivels back, eyes wide. Across the table, the smirk is gone from Hyungwon’s face. ‘’Uh, no you didn’t,” he shoots back. “You just got up and left in the middle of the night without a word.”

“Oh my god,” Changkyun says in a hushed whisper with barely suppressed glee. “Break out the popcorn, we’re not just meeting hot model flatmate, we’re meeting one of his loud hookups!”

“I did leave a note,” Hyunwoo insists, ignoring the peanut gallery watching avidly. “I had to go because I had an early shift, but I scribbled my number down on a napkin on the kitchen bench, next to the ramen we had between rounds one and two.”

“Nice,” Hoseok says approvingly, and holds out a hand for Hyunwoo to slap, which he does. Hyungwon is red in the face now, frustrated.

“There wasn’t anything on the kitchen bench when I woke up,” he says. “I mean I remember leaving the bowls there but it was clean by the time…”

He suddenly turns to look at Kihyun, who’s inching away. 

“We really should be getting back,” he says, tugging on the sleeve of Hyunwoo’s shirt. 

“You!” Hyungwon says, narrowing his eyes at Kihyun. “You threw it away, didn’t you?”

“Oh so it’s my fault now?” Kihyun huffs. “How was I supposed to know there was anything worth keeping in the pile of rubbish sitting there, just waiting for the cockroaches to come? Of course I cleaned up! And like you were going to call him anyway, when do you ever bother with more than a one night stand?”

“I might have, you don’t know that!” Hyungwon says heatedly. 

“So would you have?” Hyunwoo says, and Hyungwon looks at him, startled and flustered all of a sudden. 

“I - yeah, well - “

“Shit, everyone smile, Kihyun’s brother approaching from ten o’clock,”Jooheon hisses, and everyone scrambles to seem cheery and happy. 

“Hi, we’re just going to do a few table toasts before dinner,” the groom says as he slings one arm around Kihyun and the other around Hyunwoo. “So I’ll be needing my bros now.” He takes in the faces around the table, and says bemusedly, “Huh, I didn’t know we’d invited all of Kihyunnie’s friends. Nice to see you all!” 

Kihyun doesn’t get a chance to talk to his friends again until after the first dance. He’s watching his brother laughing as he twirls his new wife around when the emcee invites other couples to join them on the dance floor. The bridesmaids have no end of partners offering to dance with them, so Kihyun sits back, planning to enjoy a little time out with the excellent red they matched with the main course. 

He has his nose deep in the glass when his mother appears out of nowhere and nudges him. “Ask Hoseok to dance,” she urges. “And Hyunwoo, you too - I’m sure a handsome boy like you won’t have any trouble finding a partner.”

She’s got a hand of each of their backs, pushing them up, and Kihyun grimaces, knowing he’ll have no peace until he does as she asks. Hyunwoo follows him across the room, and Kihyun doesn’t give it another thought until he’s leading Hoseok to the dance floor and catches sight of Minhyuk smiling as he takes Hyunwoo’s hand. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Hoseok says gently as Kihyun stumbles over his steps as they start moving to the music. 

“Huh? Oh, I’m fine,” Kihyun says distantly. He’s still watching over Hoseok’s shoulder as Minhyuk loops his hands around Hyunwoo’s neck, giggling. They look good together - tall and handsome, one broad and the other slim. Kihyun leads Hoseok into a turn so he can stop torturing himself with the image. 

“Oh, Hyunwoo-hyung has moves,” Hoseok says as he catches sight of the other couple. Kihyun bites back the urge to swing them back around so he can see what Hoseok’s referring to. “Too bad Minhyuk’s not really paying attention.”

“He’s not?” Kihyun asks, heart beating faster in his chest. 

“Yeah, he keeps looking over here,” Hoseok says easily.

Kihyun feels nauseous again. Minhyuk might try to deny it, but he’s clearly not over Hoseok. And Hoseok sounds unbothered by the implications. Kihyun moves mechanically through the rest of the song, his mind playing on loop the jealousy he’d felt back when he was in Spain and all Minhyuk seemed to talk about was Hoseok this and Hoseok that. He’s not sure he can live through it again in person. 

“Hey, earth to Kihyun,” Hoseok says as the song ends, and another romantic ballad comes on. “Do you mind if I dance with Hyunwoo for a bit?”

“What?” Kihyun says, coming back to the present, as Hoseok smoothly hands him to Minhyuk and steps away with Hyunwoo. Kihyun’s hands go straight to Minhyuk’s waist, like they belong there, and then he’s biting his lip and looking up at his best friend. “Um, is this okay?”

Minhyuk looks - a little afraid, actually, and Kihyun doesn’t know what that means. “Okay,” he finally murmurs, and he puts his arms around Kihyun, one hand on his shoulder, the other cupping the side of his neck. Kihyun shivers, and tries not to lean into the touch too much like he wants to. 

“I’m so sorry,” he blurts out instead. Minhyuk holds his gaze, steady. “Today has been - it’s been awful just knowing you were angry at me. Please forgive me.”

Minhyuk lets out a shuddering breath. “No, I’m sorry,” he says, face softening. “I over-reacted. It’s not your fault.” He smiles weakly, and Kihyun feels his mouth turning up at the corners, mirroring. 

“You look really good today,” Kihyun says. “I, uh, meant to tell you earlier.”

“You too,” Minhyuk says. Then his smile widens, and he teases, “Except when you were sobbing during the vows this morning, you sap.”

“Excuse you, I’m an attractive crier,” Kihyun jokes back, knowing it’s absolutely not true. “And you turned on the waterworks too, I saw you.”

“We’re such suckers for all that romantic, till-death-do-us-part stuff,” Minhyuk admits.

“We are,” Kihyun says. He pauses, then decides to plunge ahead and asks in a rush, “You don’t have to answer but is that why you and Hoseok fell apart?”

“Seriously, why are you still on about that?” Minhyuk says, tensing up. “We’re here dancing with each other and you’re still thinking about Hoseok?”

“No, it’s just that talking about vows and commitment made me think of it - did he break up with you because he wasn’t after something long term?”

“Oh for crying out loud,” Minhyuk says, exasperated. “How are you so oblivious about this?” He stops moving, holding Kihyun by the arms. “Kihyun, I broke up with Hoseok, not the other way around. And not because I didn’t think he could commit.”

“Okay, then why?” Kihyun asks. “And why didn’t you just tell me this before?”

“Because of you,” Minhyuk says.

“M-me?” Kihyun stutters, his heart stopping in his chest for a moment. 

“It’s always been you,” Minhyuk says, and then he leans down and brushes a soft kiss over Kihyun’s lips. He’s tearing up when he pulls away, eyes wet. “Not that you’ve ever noticed, even though I’ve waited for you to for so long.”

Minhyuk turns abruptly and strides away with his long legs, already out of sight by the time Kihyun recovers his senses. 

“Wait!” he yells, and a few people’s heads turn as he starts for the door.

“Yoo Kihyun, did I just see you just kissing Minhyuk? With your boyfriend right here?” His mother catches him by the arm, her grip strong as she glares at him. 

“He was kissing me,” Kihyun says, frantic. “And I lied, Hoseok’s not my boyfriend. Let me go, I need to talk to Minhyuk.”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but this is not the time to cause a scene,” she hisses. “Your brother is just about to start his speech so stay here and be supportive. Your - your confusing relationship drama will have to wait.” 

She frog-marches him back to his seat, and Kihyun can feel her watchful eyes on him for the rest of the night, pinning him in place, even as his heart and mind are elsewhere. 

* 

Kihyun opens his eyes, groans as the light coming in through the window triggers the sharpest pain in his head, and closes them again. He tries to move his hands to cover his face, but it’s like his body has stopped listening to him, and nothing is helping. He groans again and slides further down the bed until he’s under the covers, and sighs in relief when it goes darker behind his eyes. 

“Oh good, you’re awake,” a voice says nearby, muffled by the blanket, and Kihyun ignores it as he snuggles up tighter in a ball. But his foot pushes against hard muscle as he shifts and it’s starting to dawn on him that he’s not in bed at home, and there’s someone else lying behind him, the big spoon to his little one. 

He reaches out blindly with one hand and starts thumping the mass behind him. 

“Yeah, definitely awake - hyung! Not cool!”

Kihyun sighs. “Oh it’s just you, Jooheon.”

“And me,” a deeper voice, the first speaker, pipes up from further away. “How are you feeling?”

“How do you think I feel?” Kihyun grumbles. “Just shut up and let me go back to sleep.”

“Uh, no can do,” Changkyun says, but he has the smarts to sound apologetic at least. “We’ve got to check out in an hour and we haven’t packed up.”

“What’s that got to do with me?” Kihyun whines. 

“Well you’re in Jooheon’s bed for one,” Changkyun says. “How about this - I’ll get you the largest, blackest coffee this hotel can rustle up, you nap in the chair in the corner while we pack, and then we can pour you back into your own nice room that you have for another day to sleep it off.”

Kihyun grunts from under the covers, which he supposes Changkyun takes as agreement, as the door closes quietly with a click on his way out. Kihyun dozes off again, the solid warmth of Jooheon holding him comfortingly, and the next time he comes to there’s a delicious, strong aroma of coffee in the air. 

“C’mon, rise and shine,” Jooheon croons softly, as if luring out a frightened animal. Kihyun throws back the covers, eyes still screwed tightly shut, and he hears his friends sigh as they guide him to the chair and place his hands around the hot cup. 

“Be careful - it’s piping hot and I was scared just inhaling the steam would corrode my insides,” Changkyun says.

Halfway through the coffee, Kihyun feels his brain sluggishly rebooting and coming back online. 

He cracks open one eye and takes in the scene in front of him - Changkyun and Jooheon dressed and moving efficiently around their room, occasionally cracking a joke between themselves. 

“Ugh, how are you two not hurting like I am right now?” he says, letting his head fall back against the high cushioned back of the chair. 

“Well, hyung, how much do you remember from last night?” Jooheon asks gently. 

Kihyun scrunches up his face. “I - Hyungwon was there? My speech killed? There were some toasts and… cake, I guess? And dancing? I don’t know, it all gets a bit blurry about then.”

Jooheon and Changkyun exchange a look.

“Do you remember anything about the dancing?”

“Hmmm... eomma made me dance with Hoseok, and then he swapped with Hyunwoo and - oh. Minhyuk! I have to go find Minhyuk!”

It’s all still hazy in his head but he has one crystal clear memory now: when Minhyuk leaned down and kissed him and everything felt completely right and wonderful in that moment, before he pulled away. Kihyun lurches to his feet, almost dropping the coffee in his haste, but then his legs wobble and he’s halfway to the floor before Jooheon catches him. 

“Whoah, slow down.” He guides Kihyun back to his seat, watching closely until Kihyun is settled again and takes a sip from his coffee. “Yeah, you should definitely talk to Minhyuk-hyung today, but maybe when you’re a little less like…”

“Like you’re about to die,” Changkyun chips in. “It’s not the best condition to be declaring your love for someone.”

“You two saw him kiss - you saw what happened?” Kihyun asks. He’s feeling shaky now, and it’s not just from the effort of trying to move.

“Yep,” Jooheon says. “Fucking _finally_.”

“So you knew he - we - “ The fog in his brain is making it hard for Kihyun to find the words, but it’s also so scary to try and say how he feels out loud. 

Jooheon and Changkyun both let out long, exasperated sighs. 

“Oh my god, did we ever,” Changkyun says. He takes in the shock on Kihyun’s face, and he adds, now less certainly, “Wait, you didn’t?”

Kihyun shakes his head minutely, lost for words. He can feel hot tears welling up behind his eyes, his heart feeling like it’s being squeezed in his chest. 

“Wow,” Changkyun says, sitting back on the bed. “I’m - how did you not notice you two have been a bickering, happily married old couple forever?”

“That’s just dumb,” Jooheon says. “No offense, hyung. But yeah, you look at Minhyuk-hyung like he hung the moon, and he’d do anything for you, so... sort it out soon, okay? We just want our mom and dad to be together for reals.”

That’s when Kihyun starts crying. Jooheon looks horrified and he dashes off to the bathroom, coming back with a box of tissues. “Oh my god, don’t cry,” he pleads. “It’s all going to work out, I’m sure.”

“No, it’s fine,” Kihyun says, sniffling. “I think this is just a delayed reaction. And just for the record, it’s dad and dad, we’re in the 21st century, geez.”

“Oh thank god, I thought we’d broken you,” Changkyun says. “If you can still yell at us you’ll be okay.”

“Yeah,” Kihyun says, taking a deep breath, the tears disappearing as quickly as they came on. “I think I’m ready to go find Minhyuk now.”

This turns out to be easier said than done. When Kihyun checks in the restaurant Minhyuk’s not there eating breakfast, and a quick stop at the front desk confirms he hasn’t checked out yet. So Kihyun heads up to room 313, takes a deep, fortifying breath, and knocks on the door. 

There’s a loud thump inside, and then some urgent, frantic whispering. 

“Uh, Minhyuk? Are you in there? It’s me.” He knocks again. 

“Hi!” A breathless Hoseok answers the door, hair tousled as if he’s just gotten out of bed. He’s only cracked the door open a sliver again, shielding himself behind it. He says a little manically, “Kihyun! What a surprise!”

“Hi,” Kihyun says slowly, as a pit opens up in his stomach. “I’m looking for - is Minhyuk in there with you?”

Hoseok’s shoulders loosen and he looks a little less wild-eyed. “Minhyuk? No, he’s not here, and I haven’t seen him since last night.” 

Kihyun’s a bit worried now. “He didn’t come back to the room? Where could he be then?”

“Uh, I think I know the answer to that,” a voice says from behind Hoseok. Hyunwoo walks up as Hoseok lets the door fall a little more open, and Kihyun’s eyes go round and wide as he realises they’re both in their underwear. 

“What a surprise,” Kihyun echoes in a deadpan voice, and Hoseok blushes, ducking his head. 

Hyunwoo says, “Hoseok was in the bathroom when Minhyuk came by last night. I gave him my keycard to our room so he’d have somewhere to stay since, um, yeah.” Now he’s bright red and squirming, but he’s got a fond look on his face as he wraps an arm around Hoseok’s shoulder. 

“Go on, talk to him,” Hoseok says with a smile. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”

“You too?” Kihyun says in disbelief. “How did everyone know before me?”

“Even though we didn’t meet until two weeks ago, I’ve always felt like I’ve known you,” Hoseok says, reaching out for Kihyun’s hand. “Do you know why?”

Kihyun shakes his head, looking puzzled. 

“It’s because everything Minhyuk did, whenever we spent time together while you were away, there would be something that reminded him of you. At first I felt like I was dating Minhyuk as well as the ghost of you, who was there with us all the time; and then in time I realised I wasn’t even a necessary part of that relationship, that story.”

“I’m so sorry,” Kihyun says, not knowing how else to respond. 

“It’s okay, I got used to the fact that I would always live in your shadow in Minhyuk’s eyes,” Hoseok says, laughing as he adds, “But you have to make things right, or I’ll have suffered through that for nothing!”

In the end, Kihyun finds Minhyuk right where he wanted him all along - curled up in his own bed. 

Kihyun lets himself into the room he’s been sharing with Hyunwoo, holding his breath. Minhyuk is deep in slumber, still in his suit from last night, lying on top of the covers of Kihyun’s bed. He takes off his shoes, and eases himself onto the bed beside Minhyuk, who stirs but doesn’t wake. Kihyun lies down on his side, watching Minhyuk. He looks so peaceful and beautiful. 

“It’s always been you too,” Kihyun confesses softly into the quiet room. He closes his eyes, and soon he drifts off too, with the soft, steady sound of Minhyuk’s breathing in his ears. 

“Kihyun?”

Kihyun opens his eyes from sleep for the second time of the day, but this time it’s a pleasing sight that greets him. There’s still weak daylight streaming in from behind the half-closed blinds, and it lights up the side of Minhyuk’s face as he gazes at Kihyun. While they’ve been asleep their bodies have slid closer together, so now Minhyuk’s head is pillowed on Kihyun’s outstretched arm, and he has an arm thrown across Kihyun’s middle. 

“Hey,” Kihyun says. He looks directly into Minhyuk’s eyes and says, “I love you. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you, and so long for me to realise you felt the same way.”

Minhyuk blinks slowly, one eye then the other, and then sucks in a sharp breath. 

“I’m not still dreaming, right?” he murmurs, his fingers grabbing a bit of skin exposed at Kihyun’s side from under his untucked shirt.

“Ow!” Kihyun says, squirming. “You’re supposed to pinch yourself.”

“Just had to make sure you were really here too,” Minhyuk says, mouth widening into his big happy, toothy grin. “I love you, too.”

“I know,” Kihyun says, and Minhyuk snorts, slapping him lightly. 

“Dork.”

“Idiot.”

“Yours?” Minhyuk asks, and Kihyun presses him into their second kiss instead as an answer; a definitive yes, now and forever. 

END

**Author's Note:**

> Some side pairing that come up in the story, past and present: Kihyun/Hoseok, Hyunwoo/Hoseok, Hyunwoo/Hyungwon
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](https://proteinscollide.tumblr.com/)


End file.
